Police Intervention in Taksim All Night As the Crowds Gather to Commemorate the 14-year-old Victim, Berkin

The police shot Berkin Elvan and then intervened to those who wanted to commemorate him.

Berkin Elvan (14) was wounded on his head by a tear gas bomb fired by the police when he went out to get bread while Gezi Park protests were going on.

Berkin, injured on June 16th, is still struggling for survival.

His family had decided to make a press release at the Taksim tram stop to cry out to the authorities for the killers to be found.

The police intervened brutally to the citizens gathered to listen to the press release. They attacked with tear gas bombs and rubber bullets.

The police intervened to the press release for Berkin Elvan who is claimed to have been shot on the head by a tear gas cartridge right after he left home to get bread on June 16th.

Berkin Elvan’s mother Gülsüm Elvan burst into tears crying “I want my son”, and taken by the people to the Taksim monument so that she could calm down.

Later on, the crowd including Berkin’s family, lawyers, the family of Ali Can Tombul, Aylin Kotil and the brother of Ethem Sarısülük* were intervened by the police using their shields to ward them off the Taksim Square. There were clashes between the protestors and the police.

General Vice President to the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Sezgin Tanrıkulu tried to calm down the events by negotiating with the chief of police.

Read It Quickly, the Police Are Coming

Berkin Elvan’s father, Sami Elvan, who was backed up by a large group of people that once more gathered after having been cleared by the police at the end of a long dispute said in his press release that “Berkin, who left the house to get bread, has sustained brain hemorrhage and a fractured skull as the gas bomb fired by the police from a very close distance hit his head. Witnesses in the neighborhood have told that Berkin was targeted and the gas bomb was not fired at an aim of 90 degrees. We, as Berkin’s family, want those who gave these orders and those who fired to get caught and stand on trial.” Meanwhile, while the press release was being announced, some of the people urged the father Sami Elvan to read it fast because the police were coming.

General Vice President to the CHP Sezgin Tanrıkulu stated that “There is no way for the people to make use of their freedom to express themselves and organize meetings. If this is what they call democracy, then we are lost for words. We are demonstrating everyone that there is no democracy in Turkey.”

Police intervention went on all through the night

Police intervention to the protests for Berkin Elvan Taksim Square went on all through the night. The protestors built barricades, started a fire and threw stones and bottles to the riot police, while the latter intervened with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. Citizens in the neighborhood were affected by the tear gas and took shelter in the shops that were open.

* Ali Can Tombul was shot on the head during the events, Ethem Sarısülük was shot dead on the head by a policeman and Aylin Kotil walked from İstanbul to Ankara to protest the 10% election threshold. (Translator’s Note)

News

28.07.2016 // The tfj team feels honoured to receive the Hermann Kesten Incentive Award by the German PEN Center. The Turkish journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül are awarded this year's Hermann Kesten Medal.

19.04.2016 // tfj invites its members and supporters to attend the trial against the Academics for Peace Meral Camcı, Esra Mungan, Muzaffer Kaya and Kıvanç Ersoy and to be also present at the trial against the journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül. Both will take place in Istanbul, Çağlayan on April 22, 2016.

#Freedom4Academics4Peace #RaiseYourPen4Freedom

Watch the video of the multilingual acceptance speech sent to the award ceremony in Istanbul from tfj members in Germersheim